Automobile manufacturers do not currently mass-produce passenger vehicles specifically designed to transport passengers having physical limitations, either as a driver or as a non-driving passenger. Consequently, mass-produced passenger vehicles are modified, or retrofitted, by a number of aftermarket companies dedicated to supplying vehicles to physically limited passengers. Such vehicles can be modified by removing certain parts or structures within a vehicle and replacing those parts with parts specifically designed to accommodate the physically limited passenger. For example in one configuration, a van may be retrofitted with a ramp to enable a physically limited individual using a wheelchair to enter the vehicle without the assistance of another individual.
Other known level change devices for retrofitting a vehicle, such as a van, include wheelchair lifts, lift platforms, and lowered floor surfaces. In some instances, a door of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) van is enlarged or otherwise modified to permit entry of the physically limited individual through what is known as the assisted entrance. Once inside the van, individuals who use the assisted entrance are often located in a rear passenger compartment of the van adjacent to or behind the assisted entrance.
Most, if not all, motorized vehicles modified to include a ramp or lift for transporting physically limited passengers are passenger vans or buses. Minivans, or passenger vans, are often referred to as multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), people movers, or multi-utility vehicles. At least in the United States, minivans are classified as light trucks or MPVs. In many instances, these vans have rear access doors on each side thereof that, when opened, define a door opening that can provide easy ingress and egress of a wheelchair.
Crossover and sport-utility vehicles have become popular due to their style and driving performance. Sport-utility vehicles are built off a light-truck chassis similar to passenger vans, whereas crossover or crossover utility vehicles are built from a passenger car chassis. Due to their build, crossover vehicles are often more fuel efficient than heavier, sport-utility vehicles and include other advantages over minivans and sport-utility vehicles.